The invention relates to hearing aids. Instruments of this kind are known from DE-OS 19 38 381, for example.
Hearing aids should be as small as possible so that they can be worn inconspicuously. Miniature instruments which can be worn in the ear canal have proved especially beneficial. The volume should be adjustable in these instruments. This requires controls operable from the outside so that the instrument can be adjusted when in operation. In small instruments, however, little area is available for the accommodation of operating elements accessible also when the instrument is being worn.
Accordingly, in the above mentioned DE-OS 19 38 381, the components are distributed between two housings. The first housing contains a transmitter wirelessly connected to the second housing, which contains the components of a hearing aid and a receiver tuned to the transmitter. It is unnecessary to design the instrument so that controls were accessible from the outside. Rather, the controls are mounted on a housing held in a user's pocket. In this way, controls need not comply with strict space requirements, and the adjustments can be made by sight. But wireless transmission requires antennas which require space, available only to a very limited extent, especially in minuature hearing aids.
One object of the invention is to provide remote controllability which can be accommodated very compactly in the actual hearing aid.